Laika (Russian: Лайка; c. 1954 – November 3, 1957) was a Soviet Union space dog. She was one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth. She was a mix of either a Siberian Husky or other Nordic breed, and a terrier. NASA refers to Laika as a "part-Samoyed terrier." A dog was sent into space to get information about the behavior of living organisms in a space environment. Information from the flight led to the discovery of solar (from the sun) and cosmic radiation.
Laika had been a stray dog living in the streets of Moscow. She underwent training with two other dogs. She was then chosen as the dog to go up in the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2. It was launched into outer space on November 3, 1957.